Cherry Supreme
by Ultimate Chibiness
Summary: In the newly-made city of Konoha, there is but one superhero; the courageous, beautiful, slightly self-centered Cherry Supreme. In the daytime, she walks camouflaged as a young high-school girl, Sakura Haruno. In the nighttime, Cherry Supreme. R&R.
1. Prologue

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_Prologue:_

**The **–_**Before**_ **Story**- _should_-knows

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**Summary**: In the newly-made city of Konoha, there is but one superhero; the courageous, beautiful, slightly self-centered Cherry Supreme. In the daytime, she walks camouflaged as a young high-school girl, Sakura Haruno. In the nighttime, or whenever needed, she transforms into Cherry Supreme, a crime-fighting superhero determined to win against the forces of evil. Her enemies? Plenty. Her allies? None at the moment. I wonder...what are her motives?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Naruto series, or the manga. Superhero outfits were based on pictures randomly searched through photobucket. Ideas based on intense anime watching. This applies to all Chapters of this fanfiction.

**Also**: This _is_ in Sakura's P.O.V., okay.

**Chapter Count: -**_**unknown**_** as of yet-**

**Characters Included:**

**Everyone**** i.e. Naruto, Sakura, Neji, etc.**

**OCC**: Tsubasa, Chief of Police Koji Sawatari

**Reference pictures will be posted in my profile because unfortunately they can't be posted in the story. I appreciate Reviews, m'kay?  
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	2. Chapter 1: A Good First Day

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_Chapter 1:_

A **G**oo**d** _Firs_**t** Da_y_

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It all happened so suddenly, and it wasn't like I had a choice or anything. They were the parents; I only followed their orders, their aspirations, whatever they wanted out of me. It's not like my opinions mattered, so I didn't say them. Point is, I was in a new city, in a new place, going to a new school in a few minutes.

I sighed, took my things, and went out the door in my brand-new uniform. It was pretty basic uniform, actually, looking it over. A white school shirt, collar popped open because of the heat, with a denim skirt, and a denim tie untied because I forgot how to tie it myself. It'll come back to me, eventually. I didn't really care, because there was something much more important than my clothes or school right now.

It was this ball in my hand, as big as my palm, hard and pink, like a basic tennis ball. But it was a very strange tennis ball, and it fascinated me at the same time as it frightened me. I had written my initials on it yesterday night, so I wouldn't lose it or mistake it for another's. You probably don't understand what I'm saying, and maybe it's best you didn't. Maybe it's best no one doesn't.

Back to my situation; going to school. To get to my new school, I can either walk or take the bus; whatever suits my fancy. It's not a particularly long way there; just ten minutes away.

School wouldn't start anytime soon, so I decided to walk there, one of the many mistakes I made today. Spacing out seems to be my thing, so it's no surprise that I bumped into someone on the way, struggling frantically to catch my pink ball before it hit the ground. Caught!

"Watch it, you!" I turned around to face the young man I had bumped into. Brown spiked hair was down on the floor, picking up a crowd of books he'd dropped, muttering something. I wasn't really amused by his comment, seeing as he had run out of the building so suddenly and not looked around. It was as much his fault as mine.

Finally he looked up, his irritated eyes meeting my equally annoyed ones, and he was taken back. "Whoa! Girl. I mean, hi?"

This did not amuse me one bit, and I waited for an explanation of sorts, _something_, when a puppy trailed out of the same building, barking happily. It was so cute that I lowered my guard for a second, and he noticed. The puppy walked around the boy before he bent down and picked it up while holding his mess of books.

"His name is Akamaru, and he likes being petted." It was like he was peering into my deepest thoughts, or maybe my left hand was trembling to the point where it could not be ignored.

I gulped, and then walked slowly to it, my hand outstretched. I probably looked like a robot, with my eyes wide with ambition beyond necessary. He just...tried to hold back chuckles, and it wasn't working at all for him. He looked like some messed up clown. When I finally reached out and petted Akamaru's head, I felt so happy and relieved. I'd done it, and the happiness on Akamaru's face was the best reward I could ever receive. "I did it."

"You're weird." I looked away from the dog at the young man whose hands they were in. It was at the same time I noticed he was taller than me, and how close I was to him. Instantly I was nervous, and maybe, perhaps, I turned a shade of red.

"I'm Kiba, thanks for asking," he continued and it was right then and there that I remembered I hadn't introduced myself, and my current situation; for all he knew, I was a stranger in the middle of the street, in front of his building, petting the head of his dog. The shade of red must've deepened. "So, what's your name, pinkette?"

"Sakura," I said, when reality hit me. I looked around where I was, and finally found a trace of my destined school. "Oh no, I should be over there right now!"

Kiba...did not pay any attention to me. In fact, he took more attention on my pink tennis ball. A second later, it wasn't in my hands anymore, and the puppy was on the floor.

"Alright, Akamaru!" Kiba was saying as I looked at my hands, trying to figure this whole world apart. "Looks like Sakura-chan's helping us out with today's training." I turned around at my name; that's when I noticed the pink tennis ball in his hand. He was getting ready to throw it!

"No, Kiba, wait!" I tried, and I ended up tripping on my own two feet, but caught my balance right away.

"Go, Akamaru!"

The ball went flying towards the school, Akamaru chasing after it. Watching it go by, I ran after it, too. Kiba was caught off-guard, and as he was trying to say something, another person bumped into him. So it was just me, rushing after the tennis ball, Akamaru in the lead, dodging the cars and people in our way. Looking back now, we probably looked a bit strange.

As we neared the school building, Akamaru jumped into the air and caught the pink ball. I was in such a state of happiness, I rushed a little faster to try and catch up with him before he reached the floor. As fate would have it, Akamaru didn't have a proper hold on the ball. It slipped from his mouth, and hit the floor right by my side.

Now _this_ is what I mean when I said the tennis ball was strange. The minute it hit the floor, the tennis ball released purple smoke, concealing me, and turning me into another being. My natural jade eyes become purple; my pink bubblegum hair becomes pale white, tied in pigtails by black scrunchies with pink pompoms on them. My whole attire is switched to a black knee-length dress, a pink overcoat with lolita sleeves, and a white ribbon tying it together on my chest, a heart in the middle of it. A staff of some sort falls from the sky during this transformation, and I absolutely must catch it or else it hits my head; trust me, I should know. I become **Cherry Supreme**.

You'd think it would be a spectacular event for me to be able to turn into a superhero, right? Unfortunately for me, I have to succumb to a few seconds of headache as a bunch of images enter my brain, all crimes supposedly happening at the same time as I transformed, and I suddenly feel this rush to go help. Just like last time. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to help, but right now, to a teenager such as myself, I'd rather try and start to get to know my new school, try and make new friends, and all that stuff. I admit it's a little selfish of me to put myself over the world, but hey, that could wait a few hours, days, minutes?

Resisting to the rush is like playing hookie; you can try it, but there's a lot of danger involved. Seeing as I've never tried, I wouldn't know for sure until now. But still, I did it; running away from the confused Akamaru and towards my new school. I began to feel a little woozy, and the headache came again; it seemed that a few of those events had been resolved, and a few become even worse. Now wasn't the time to feel sorry for them, or myself; now was the time to try and get out of this situation, and get back to my normal life.

Just my luck, there were plenty of people at school at this time, walking around normally, some of them glancing at me suspiciously. I ignored them and kept running on; luckily, **Cherry Supreme** doesn't feel exhaustion from continual running. I knew what my classroom number was, and the building; that was my destination. I ran to the door of the building, and ran down the hall, glancing at every number on the door. As I kept going on, I felt woozier and woozier; I didn't feel so great. Finally, I found the number that was my room. By this time, I felt a little too weak, but I still managed to open the door. That was all I could do; I passed out right then and there.

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	3. Chapter 2: Sasuke and Tomatoes

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_Chapter 2_:

**Sa**_su_**ke** a_n_d **Toma**_to_es

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I guess I came to a few hours later, in the nurse's room, in one of their beds. I stood up abruptly, and looked out the nearest window. There were kids outside playing; it might've been lunchtime by now. I found myself completely lost and confused, wondering what to do next. Should I stay in the nurse's room or go back to the classroom? There would only be a couple of hours left to school, right?

"You're up."

I turned around abruptly, slightly scared out of my wits by the sudden words. I thought I was alone in the nurse's room, but it ended up that a young man was in the room, too, sitting down in a chair near the bed. And it wasn't Kiba. This one had a funny black hairdo, and really serious onyx eyes.

"Um, who are you?" I asked, a little intimidated by him. He didn't look friendly, but he did look cute. I made sure there weren't hearts in my eyes when I spoke to him.

The boy sighed, stood up, and walked towards me. I could feel my heart race; he was just definitely too gorgeous! His hands reached out and I felt like I was going to faint again. Ecstasy is so mean to me sometimes…I mean, he was just tying my tie. Honestly, I never knew how close a person had to be to tie another person's tie.

"Could you perhaps be the one who brought me here?" I tried again, but my voice was small.

"Hn." _My_ hero! 3 Although…Hero must have longer answers than that, shouldn't they? What a shame this one doesn't follow the rules.

While I was deep in thought with this _very_ important issue, he let go of the tie and said: "Tomatoes." And I was shocked. Shocked and confused, because heroes shouldn't be dumb in the head, either. There had to be another reason.

"What?" I asked, hoping he would clarify, and prove he wasn't just a pretty face.

"Watch out with tomatoes. Get to lunch, new girl." And he walked out of the room, or maybe strutted, to my imagination. He seemed that kind of cool person. I made sure to notice he was wearing my school uniform.

It was with this great inspiration that I stretched my arms, took my things, including the pink tennis ball which had been returned to me, though I placed it in my bookbag right away, and walked out of the nurse's office. Into a great hallway, that I did _not_ know my way around.

"Excuse me, but could you be Faint-san?"

By my side was this cute girl, with purple eyes just like Cherry Supreme, and blue short hair, in my same school uniform. Her tie was tied, and she had buttoned her shirt up. Maybe it was just me that was _hot_.

"I'm Sakura, actually," I said. "Could you, perhaps, mean me because I fainted this morning…?" It made sense.

The girl seemed to note her mistake, and she covered her mouth instantly. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said quickly. "When I asked some boys who you were, they said you were Faint. I figured it was some nickname or something…I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, it's fine," I said quickly; this wasn't a very serious matter, anyway, that I'd be annoyed about. I mean, it wasn't her fault. "So, who are you?'

"My name is Hyuuga Hinata," she introduced herself. "I asked the teacher if I could check if you were awake so I could bring you back to class. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm in your class, too. Sorry…"

"It's alright, it's alright," I repeated, a little annoyed at her fear of displeasing me. I'm not a very picky person, and I don't care about the little things, so Hinata feeling so apologetic around me was a bit…annoying. "Just…lead me to class, mkay?"

"Yosh," Hinata answered, but it sounded more like she was trying to encourage herself than an answer to me. "Leave it up to me!" I'm quite proud to say she led me back to the same classroom I had opened this morning before, you know, the whole passing out thing.

Hinata opened the door, and we both walked in together. At the sight of me, though, the whole classroom quieted down. I figured I hadn't made a good first impression of myself at all, what with the whole fainting thing.

"Hey, it's Faint!" someone shouted. That pretty much reassured me.

"Well, class, now I can finally present your new transfer student, Miss Haruno Sakura," the teacher announced, but I could really care less.

He nudged me to introduce myself, and so with a lack of words, I did. "My name is Sakura," I said, and then paused. This was a repeated fact, and I'm pretty sure all my classmates caught that. "Sorry about fainting earlier. If you want, I'll answer any questions you might have, okay?" I smiled at the end, to maybe get on their good side.

"Hey, why'd you faint this morning, Faint?" I turned to the voice that had asked the question, irritated. It was Kiba's voice, and what was even more odd, Akamaru was on his head.

"Well, Kiba, you of all people should know why," I replied sarcastically. "You _threw_ my ball and I ran to get it. All that running so early in the morning tired me out because I forgot to eat breakfast, and there you have it!" Such a great lie. I turned to the rest of the class. "You hear that? No dangerous diets; I'm not anemic."

"Yeah yeah, we _got_ it." some jerk replied, and all of a sudden, I realized what I was doing. I didn't make a good impression at all; in fact, I made myself come off as a pretty bratty, possibly self-centered person. Not fun, not cool, not anything. You know, when I asked them to ask anything, I was hoping one of them would ask if I had a boyfriend, so I could answer cutely and at least have some admirers around. That's what girls want. But not what I received.

"Alright, Miss Haruno, you can step down now," the teacher said, and I followed. "Class dismissed."

I looked up quickly, surprised at my timing. Everyone stood from their seats and walked past me out the door, Kiba rubbing my head as he passed by, but besides that, I was invisible. I didn't move until Hinata tugged at my hand, smiled, and led the way.

"Hinata, did I make a bad impression of myself?" I asked, whining childishly. I was afraid of the answer.

But Hinata wasn't mean; she wasn't that type of person that makes fun of me. Hinata just smiled, and answered, "Not at all, desu." I sort of did a double-take on that one; the dreaded _desu_, but let it slide. Surely Hinata wasn't capable of using the dreaded word against me; it was one of my worst pet peeves.

As we walked on, me feeling a little better for myself, I remembered the boy who tied my tie, and his words. "Hinata, what role do tomatoes have in this school?" I bet it sounded like a very stupid question, and I regretted almost immediately asking that.

"There's the new student rite of passage," Hinata answered, completely unmoved by the question. "Said newbie must be pelted with tomatoes by everyone in the school or they will not be recognized by the students of said school. Is that the information you need, Sakura-san?" And she smiled cutely.

I, on the other hand, was deeply moved. Scared, too. I needed to be hit with tomatoes to be accepted? What kind of crackpot school did I get myself into? And at that very moment, as I was thinking this, Hinata opened the cafeteria doors. And every person there had a tomato in their hand, all looking at me.

It all happened in seconds; one minute, Hinata's with me, the next, she disappears into thin air. And I'm pelted with a zillion tomatoes, everywhere. It was the most vivid experience in my whole entire life, and it only lasted half a minute. Then, Hinata was back by my side and Kiba on the other with a large sheet of paper, checking down people, when he abruptly stopped.

"Whoa, Faint, you've got quite a bunch of people left to be pelted by," Kiba marveled. "All of them lunching at different spots. It's a good thing I know where the rest are, or else you'd have to transfer out!" Kiba took my hand suddenly, the only hand I had that wasn't tomatofied, and ran out of the cafeteria, dragging me along.

The first stop we made was the classroom, where a group of girls were cleaning up the room. "You four, plus Tenten, this one's a newbie!" Kiba announced, raising my hand. I looked at them through squinted eyes, wondering what I looked like to them.

"Oh…well, we don't have any tomatoes, Kiba!" one of them quickly said. "I'm so sorry, newbie-san."

"No problem, I always keep some stashed!" Kiba said quickly, handing them tomatoes from who knows where. Not his bookbag, surely. "Go ahead, girls. The quicker we do this, the faster she's accepted into this school!"

It was with great joy that they pelted me. And then Kiba took my hand and we were off again, this time to a hallway. A boy with purple eyes, just like Hinata's, came from the other side with a tomato in hand, and pelted me rapidly. And then went on his way. It was like he knew this was going to happen.

"Just one more person left," Kiba said, marking the paper again. "The ice king, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Kiba, could I please clean myself up a little before the last tomato, please?" I asked, and maybe I did whine a little, but it was to get on his good side. What boy wouldn't want a girl pleading cutely for something?

"A…lright, b-bathroom's that way," he said, but the way he said it made it seem like my charms worked. I followed his directions and reached the bathroom with ease, opening the door rapidly. I met with a bunch of overly make up-ed girls, who scoffed and walked away, before I finally saw myself in the mirror. God, was I a mess!

"Sakura-san, let me help you." Hinata was by my side again. I swear, she's a psychic, coming only when needed. Thanks to her, we were able to clean myself to practically miracle proportions; there were no tomato pieces on my head, my tie was wiped clean, though it was untied again, and there were no tomato anywhere; only the redness on my shirt, that was probably now permanent.

"Thank you, Hinata." I hugged her, because she was the greatest lifesaver, ever. "Thank you so much, thank you." And she smiled.

I stood by the girl's bathroom door, just brimming with happiness. Outside the door I could hear a group of boys talking, but I didn't pay attention. I wish I had, though.

"Hey, Sai, do you know what today is? Opposite Day."

"Really?" By this time, Hinata and I walked out of the bathroom door, happily. At least, I was.

"Go show that girl what today is, Sai!"

All of a sudden, this boy comes up to me; this boy with short black hair and black eyes. He's also pretty pale and has this fake little smile; it's a bit creepy.

"Hey, you!" he said suddenly. "You're pretty ugly, aren't you, old hag? Disgusting, pitiful, shameful."

All of those words, rolling out of his tongue so smoothly, with that fake smile of his still in place. I was so angry, so flustered, so annoyed…and yet all I could do was cry. I couldn't come up with a comeback at all, so I ran back into the bathroom and stood behind it so no one would come in, not even Hinata.

"That was great, Sai! You know today's not really Opposite Day, right?"

"Yeah, I knew."

"Did you really?"

"No."

And there was a bustle of laughter behind the bathroom door.

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	4. Chapter 3: Tsubasa and the Last Tomato

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_Chapter 3_:

**Tsubasa **a_n_d **th**_e_ La_s_**t** **To**_ma_**to**

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By this time, I'm pretty sure you all know that I'm still pretty angry, and all I could still do was cry. I could see myself in the mirror; I was pitiful, really. And there was this pent up rage inside of me now. If I didn't get rid of this soon, something would explode inside of me.

I took out from my bookbag the pink tennis ball and slammed it into the floor. The purple smoke commenced, I became Cherry Supreme, and the staff fell from the ceiling. I caught it, and waited for all the visions of trouble around the city; there were only four, but it was good enough. Pent up anger could be released this way.

In a flash, I was out of the girl's bathroom and into the city, running rapidly with my staff in hand. The first crime scene was a simple purse snatcher, but I thoroughly made sure that creep wouldn't do it again; a third of my pent up rage was spent on that crime. The second crime scene was a bank heist, in which I sneaked through the window and then whacked the criminals with my staff, just like baseball. The audience seemed to be in a sweatdrop, but besides that, it was all good.

By then, most of my rage was pretty much wasted, so I began to walk to the third crime scene; a criminal was pointing a gun at a couple in the park; when I heard a voice coming from close by: "_Sheesh_, did you really have to hit them that hard?"

I jumped, raised my staff and looked around; there was no one nearby. I was all alone, so where did that voice come from? "Who are you? _Where_ are you?"

"I'm your staff, stupid," the voice replied, and I quickly swiveled the staff closer to me, to take a closer look at it. "The name is Tsubasa. Pleasure to meet you."

"You can talk?!" I asked, confused. I twirled the staff around in y hands, looking at it curiously.

"Yes, I can talk," Tsubasa answered. "Not quite right if you keep on swiveling me around like that." I caught Tsubasa and kept a firm hold on him. "Looks like draining your energy this morning taught you a lesson, lassie."

"That was you?" I asked in disbelief, and annoyance. "Why did you do that? Why do I have to be this? Explain everything!"

"Once you become Cherry Supreme, you must finish your superhero duties to turn back," Tsubasa answered, though his voice was dull and bored as if he was tired of explaining this. "To turn back to normal, you have to be either out of energy, or I have to be drained of energy. That's the rules."

"Who makes these rules?" I asked, exasperated.

"The same person who turned me into a pink tennis ball and a battle staff!" Tsubasa answered, also annoyed. "Look, just do your job as Cherry Supreme so we can earn enough points to turn me back into a genie again."

"Points?" What was this, some kind of game?

"Every time you maintain peace in this city, I'm awarded points," Tsubasa replied, obviously bored with this. "There's a screen somewhere on the staff that'll tell you the number." I looked around the handle and there it was, a screen with the number 50 in it. "Please, just hurry this thing up and go save the couple in the park so we can get more points."

"Right," I said, rushing up ahead. "But why is it now that you can talk? Why couldn't you tell me this earlier, like when I found you by the stream?"

"After a certain number of points, we can get a bonus upgrade," Tsubasa said. "That was fifty with the heist; bonus upgrade, I can talk. Whoop-de-flippin'-do."

"Yeah, let's get this over with," I agreed, slowing my pace as I got closer to the scene of the crime. Nothing had changed; there was still a couple with a gun pointed at them, the guy demanding cash.

"Announce yourself," Tsubasa whispered suddenly.

"What?" I asked.

"Just burst in there and say, 'I'm the protector of peace and love, Cherry Supreme,' or some other crazy thing you see in shoujo anime." Tsubasa clarified.

I felt myself get a little red. "Why do I have to do that?" I asked.

"It gets more points!" Tsubasa screeched, a little too loud. The robber heard this, and pointed his gun at the bush we were hiding in.

"You, who are you?" he demanded. "Get out of there! Before I shoot, come on!"

I took a deep breath and jumped out of the bushes, my staff raised. "The protector of peace and love in Konoha, Cherry Supreme!" I answered, faking the confidence I knew I didn't have to say all that. It was just all too embarrassing, but I continued, even pointing Tsubasa at him. "You, sir, are disturbing the peace! Get out before I give you your just dessert."

"Nicely said, Sakura," Tsubasa taunted, and I turned a little pink on the inside. Stupid Tsubasa.

The robber didn't find anything cute in my little show, and instead shot a few bullets. I swiveled Tsubasa and deflected each bullet, running ahead to him. I kicked the gun out of his hand and then put him in one of those wrestling moves that doesn't let him move, or else I'd twist his arm off. Whatever that is. At the same time, five police officers came from all around, pointing guns at me. I was dead confused.

"It's alright, guys, she saved us!" the male of the couple announced, walking into the circle. Four of the police officers lowered their arms, and the last took the robber off my hands. I sighed; looks like I'd be held up here for a while before I finished that last crime.

"You, Miss Cherry Supreme, how could we ever thank you?" the male of the couple asked, taking me by the hand. "I'm the Chief of Police, Sawatari Koji. Pleasure to meet you." Strange, he didn't look the part. He looked a little too young to be the chief of anything; nowhere past his mid-twenties yet.

"Likewise," I said, unsure about this attention. Already, there was one taking pictures of me. "Look, Sawatari-dono, I'm just here to defeat crime, not for fame but to keep this safe for my family. I don't need any praise, just let me do my work."

"Of course, of course," Sawatari-san answered, maybe feeling a little high and mighty because I used the –dono suffix instead of –san. I sure know how to give people what they want, eh? "But, please, do remember to call the police right after so we can lock up the baddies, alright?"

"Understood," I said, and bowed my head before I ran off.

The last crime scene was pretty easy; a car going way too fast for his own good. I went the other way, to a part ahead of them where they were going to pass by anyway. And I just stood in the middle of the road, waiting for them to reach the road already. Of course, seeing a young beauty such as myself in the middle of a narrow road, they slowed down, but it wasn't enough. I actually had to step up and stop their car myself with my super strength. One of the greatest advantages of being a superhero. Makes you wonder if they actually wanted to run you over, huh?

After the car was at a complete stop, I walked over to the driver's window, already open, and said, "Excuse me sir, if you could please slow down, I'd appreciate it, mkay?" as cutely as possible. "You're sort of disturbing the peace with the roar of that engine. Please think about others before you do something so insensitive."

The driver was completely shocked, flabbergasted, confused. "Who-who are you?!"

I made a peace sign and said, once more, "The protector of peace and love in Konoha, the fabulous Cherry Supreme." A slight ego, I admit. "Please slow down for the rest of the ride, alright?"

The driver nodded vigorously, and drove off. My superhero duties were done.

"Sakura, I can keep your transformation for a few more minutes," Tsubasa talked again. "Hurry up and use those minutes to get back to school. Don't you have something important to do there?"

"The rite of passage for transfer students, right," I said, and began sprinting right away; I surely didn't want to become plain old Sakura again in the middle of a road I didn't know. "Ugh, I still need to be pelted by the _ice king_'s tomato. Well, at least it's almost over."

"You're willing to stay at a school like that?" Tsubasa asked.

"Don't be so nosy, Tsubasa," I answered. "And yeah, I am. I've got a few friends at least. Everything else, I can just ignore it. Or pent up the rage for Cherry Supreme time."

"Amen to that." At that very moment, I became plain-old Sakura again, with my tainted blouse and untied tie, my denim skirt and pink hair, in front of the school.

"New girl."

The boy from the nurse's room was here, too, lying by a Cherry Blossom tree. I never actually got his name, so this was all I could call him by.

"Faint! Hey, Faint!"

Kiba and Hinata came running from the school towards me, Kiba waving his long paper and Hinata trying to catch up. "Good job, Faint! You found the Ice King, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Although I was more annoyed at being Faint, I couldn't help but brighten up at knowing my prince's name. He was the last person on the list to pelt me before I'm recognized as a student. What luck!

I bowed my head to Sasuke. "Please, just do it quickly." I wanted this over with.

"No."

I looked up. "What?"

Sasuke was looking at a shiny red tomato, observing it. "I said no. I'm not going to waste a tomato."

"That's a pretty nice thing of you to do, Sasuke, but I sort of need you to do this," I pleaded. "It's tradition; it has to be done."

"Some of this school's traditions should be changed, don't you think?" he said, suddenly. Then he stood up, and pushed the tomato into my hands. "Think about it." And he walked away.

I sure as heck was thinking about it; if a cute boy told you something, wouldn't you do it, or at least think about what he said? It was just like that tomato bit earlier; I understood nothing but I was pretty impressed at his smarts. No questioning it!

Suddenly, the tomato was taken away from me as Kiba examined it carefully, though disappointed because it was a very sound and clean tomato. I couldn't help but be worried again; would I ever actually be a student here? He took my hands and examined them, too; they had a bit of tomato juice on it.

"Congratulations, Sakura," Kiba announced. "You're officially a student at Leaf High." I hugged him after that.

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	5. Chapter 4: Evil comes wSchool Principal

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Chapter 4:

**Evil** _**c**ome_s **w**_it_**h** a **N**_e_**w** **_Schoo_**_l_ _Pri_n_ci_**p**_al_

* * *

I must say, the group I hang out with must be a strange sight to others; now that I'm an official student, I have friends, and I know people. But this school's pretty big; it's been three days, and I don't think I know everyone in the school yet. The one thing that bugs me about this school is that everyone has a different lunch spot; Hinata and I lunch out in the grass where it's nice and cool, Kiba and his people hang out in the track, and Sasuke-kun rotates his spot randomly so he's hard to track down.

In the past three days, I've been transforming into Cherry Supreme more often now that Tsubasa urges it so much, and I've become pretty skilled at it. I've also become used to the school, and I bring rollerblades to and from school everyday, not because of the distance but because Cherry Superme sometimes phases out a little too far from anywhere social. Cherry Supreme is becoming popular now, thanks to Sawatari-san announcing and publishing her face everywhere as his local ally and superhero.

"Isn't she great, Hinata?" I nudged the Hinata on my left for an answer. It was lunchtime, just me and Hinata time. "I think she's become sort of an idol right now, huh."

"I'm just glad someone is taking care of us," Hinata answered.

"Yeah, whenever we're in trouble…Cherry Supreme comes!" I announced heroically, and then we laughed a little. Everything has been going so great…

Tsubasa and I have been getting along a little better, too; like two opposite sides of a coin. He told me a bit of himself; he was a magic lamp genie who was just recently released when a witch confronted him, and turned him into what he is now. The magic council refused to free him immediately because of his wicked tongue and bad etiquette, so they'll only turn him back once he's received enough points.

"They're acting like it's a game," Tsubasa whined. "Some kind of entertainment to those boobs in the sky. Just throwing me off into a river to die. Boy, I tell ya, if you hadn't jumped in the river and gotten me, I'd be sunken treasure."

"They're jerks alright," I said, though it was really clear who was the jerk in the situation. That's how I found Tsubasa, by the way; jumping into a river to get him, though I thought he was a pink tennis ball, but that's another story best told later. "So hey, where's the bad guy so we can finish this?" The visions of people in trouble was getting so easy to handle, I could sleep through it without paying attention to a single one. It's a good thing Tsubasa was.

"In the park by the lake," Tsubasa answered. "Funny, I can feel we're going the right way this time. It's like the crime is luring me in, so I can expel it and get my points."

"You sound so optimistic about a grave matter." A male voice sounded amongst the trees around us, and it startled me so much, I practically did a U-turn and raised Tsubasa up, just in case. It was a very alluring voice.

"Who are you?" I asked, but then these type of questions don't get answered, unless we're in one of those shoujo animes. Or…

A figure dropped from the trees into the bushes, and I took a few steps towards it, cautiously, Tsubasa aimed. I could tell he was hating this tense atmosphere. And then the figure stood up amongst the bushes and walked forward.

It was a strange figure alright, wearing strange red clothes and a red top hat. He had black hair and really pretty eyes. As he walked forward, he bowed lowly, raising his head. "Mad Hatter," he introduced himself.

"P-Pleasure to meet you," I stuttered; he was a real beauty alright. His attention on me made me a bit nervous.

"Hey!" Tsubasa yelled. "I remember you! You were part of that council!" Tsubasa rattled in my hand violently.

Mad Hatter straightened himself into some kind of pose, as if he was holding something in his hands. In seconds, a teapot appeared in one hand pouring tea into the cup in his other hand. "Yes, I was among them," he said, raising the teapot. He motioned the cup to me. "Would you like some tea, miss?"

I nodded like a zombie and took the cup when Tsubasa yelled, "It's a trick! Leave it alone!" So I did, looking down at the pale liquid inside the cup.

"I sense good partnership amongst you," Mad Hatter remarked, walking closer and taking the cup away from me; he was a bit taller than me. He glanced down at Tsubasa. "Looks like you two get along."

"What's it to ya?" Tsubsa spat angrily, and he shook violently again.

"I would like to see more of this _partnership_ as we get to the scene of the crime," Mad Hatter continued. "Please, Miss Cherry Supreme, continue on with your search."

I was startled out of my wits when he said my title, in such a very polite way, that I hesitated. Tsubasa didn't seem to like this. "B-but," I started, and Mad Hatter looked at me strangely. "You said something about a _grave matter_…" And my voice trailed off.

"And she listens!" Mad Hatter praised me in sarcasm, and I couldn't help but feel a bit insulted. "She's a keeper, alright."

"How do you know her title, Mad Hatter?" Tsubasa asked angrily.

"I've been sent to watch you two and inspect a little matter regarding the next crime," Mad Hatter answered quite boredly, looking at the cup and then at me. "So, if you please, get on with it."

"Why do we need to be watched?" Tsubasa asked and I raised him up.

With strength, I continued. "We're not leaving until I get all my questions answered." I hesitated. "Or, in this case…Tsubasa's!"

"Thank you," Tsubasa reluctantly answered back.

"Because _Tsubasa_ is a notorious genie known to mix up wishes to the highest extent," Mad Hatter answered. He twirled the teapot and it became some kind of rocket-launcher. "Now, if you two don't get moving anytime soon, I'll end your lives right now." He motioned to Tsubasa before he said: "You two, shortie. We don't have time to waste; evil comes tomorrow."

Tsubasa rattled angrily in my hands. "Let's…get going…"

I nodded, and we started walking, Mad Hatter walking behind us. The park was fairly empty in the dead of night, save for a few couples who found a midnight stroll romantic, but still Mad Hatter walked by the trees and not the open road like I did. Finally, the lake came into view, the moon reflected beautifully.

"Your grave matter?" I asked the Mad Hatter as I turned my head to him.

He was leaning on the nearest tree, his back resting on the bark, sipping some tea while the teapot dwindled in his hands. "Just wait," he murmured.

I turned back to look at the lake, wondering what could be so wrong in this view. "Tsubasa, where's the problem?" I asked, raising him to my lips as I whispered to him.

"The crime was a hassling between a murderous creature and a girl," Tsubasa said, his tone even. "I can still feel some type of attraction to something…around us. No, wait. It's…in front of us!"

And then there was a gust of wind, almost knocking Tsubasa out of my hands, but I kept my grip strong and raised Tsubasa in front of me. The wind kept going, coming from in front of us, and I narrowed my eyes to see what was ahead. It's a good thing I saw that branch headed for me then or else I'd been hit hard; I swung Tsubasa and the branch went flying to one side.

"**Not **nice, Cherr," Tsubasa commented, but I ignored him this time.

"Tsubasa, what's out there?" I asked him, pointing him ahead. And then the gust of wind stopped, bluntly, leaving me looking around frantically for the cause; I stole a glance at Mad Hatter, who was just watching and sipping his tea.

I continued looking around, but soon I thought it was hopeless. From the one side I wasn't looking at I was tackled, and I fell to the side, rolling until I finally caught myself. It's a good thing the Cherry Supreme costume is more comfortable than it looks or else I'd be pretty scratched up after that. Instead, I was just fine, my staff raised at this new foe. But there was something wrong; the person in front of me didn't look like a person. He was much more paler than a real human being, and his face was so distorted in anger that it barely fit in his face. It was more of a beast than a person. What's more is that the rest of its body was blackened; a silhouette.

I took one glance at Mad Hatter; he was sipping his tea with interest. Then I looked back at the beast, and shouted, "I am Cherry Supreme, the protector of peace and love in Konoha. You, sir, are disturbing the peace! What is your purpose?"

There wasn't any answer, just another lunge at me that I avoided. Or thought that I avoided; the animal swiveled back and landed a good punch at me. It was like all the air inside me tried to come out at the same time, and I spent a good few minutes on the floor as I recovered.

"It's a ghoul, Sakura." Mad Hatter was speaking, even though I couldn't see him from where I was lying. "The remnants of the deep deeds of humans create a dark aura; banded together, they make a ghoul. It takes a lot of evil people, sinners, meeting simultaneously to create a full ghoul; or a witch's magic to summon them to one place."

I felt a little better now, both physically and mentally, now that I knew what I was up against. It didn't matter if I actually hurt this thing; it wasn't human. So I stood up on both my feet, but the ghoul was nowhere in sight. Confused, I lowered my guard and he stroke again.

"This is the grave matter I meant." Mad Hatter still continued to speak, and the ghoul paid no mind to him. He disappeared once again as I stood up, but I readied my guard and waited for him. My staff clashed with his arm the next time he struck, and I was able to land a kick at him.

"It looks like you aren't able to handle him yet; if the cause is a lack of strength or experience, I'm not sure of." Mad Hatter kept sipping his tea. "Just say the word, and I'll do him justice for you; but, in return, take away all your acquired points."

"Never!" Tsubasa shouted, and at that moment, unfortunately, he clashed with the ghoul again. I felt like he'd been hurt in that attack that I guess I lowered my guard again, because the ghoul found an opening and kicked me with such force, I almost flew up two feet. By luck, I landed on my feet.

"How do you defeat something that's not human?" I asked Mad Hatter; I'll admit most superheroes don't ask unless they're really desperate, and right now, I was desperate. Heck, I could barely feel most of my body, and I didn't want to hurt Tsubasa. Mad Hatter, though, was sipping his tea, as usual.

"Creatures that shouldn't exist should be destroyed," Mad Hatter explained. "Say the word."

Again, the ghoul attacked, and I fought back. I punched, I kicked, I used my staff again, but the ghoul wouldn't even slow down; he remained constant, not a bit tired. I was getting a bit discouraged, but I still continued; now that I look back on it, I can see I wasted a lot of energy trying the same tactics, trying to win over something I knew I couldn't.

And then it happened. Just like Tsubasa said once, I turn back to normal whenever Tsubasa or my energy are completely wasted; trying to beat something I can't beat drained it quicker than a kid drinking Kool-Aid. But the ghoul didn't stop; almost immediately after I phased out, the ghoul went into a slapping frenzy. I was annoyed but, right now as myself, I couldn't do anything to fight back. I found an opportunity to duck and then, using the rollerblades on my feet, skated off to an escape. The ghoul then rammed into me and sent me flying. That hurt more than any pain I have ever felt in my life; Cherry Supreme made taking pain look easy. I stayed on the floor on my side, looking at Mad Hatter.

"Say it." Mad Hatter was saying.

I couldn't feel my body at all; I didn't think I could move my lips.

"Sakura, get up!" Tsubasa was shouting. I couldn't see him, but I heard that shout.

"Say it." Mad Hatter said, much firmly.

The ghoul was coming again, for the last strike. He was coming closer and closer, his arm raised for a possible body slam. I managed to open my mouth and whisper; "H.e…lp.."

And that was all the Mad Hatter needed. The teapot disappeared from his hand and he threw the dish with the teacup on it; it swiveled with the teacup in place towards the ghoul, and the cup fell to the floor as the dish hit the ghoul. At this collision, a giant flash of light hit the ghoul, and in the next second he was gone..

Mad Hatter was now by my side, helping me up. He took me to my home without me telling him directions, and laid me on my bed. "That was very reckless of you," he said, his face very stern. "Keep that up and you two will die. I'll be watching you two, and I'll come back another day. By tomorrow, all your wounds will heal." Before he left, he took one more look at me and said; "You're a terrible superhero."

After that whole ordeal, I couldn't help but be annoyed the whole night through. I couldn't even sleep, thinking about Mad Hatter's words and looking over at Tsubasa, once again a quiet pink tennis ball. All the points were gone. I'd never really gotten into the whole superhero thing to begin with, but it felt pretty terrible to be told that I'm not good at it. I mean, I tried hard…I tried hard…

I woke up in the morning, sore, and not very happy. I dressed, changed, picked everything and got out of school. In the process, I managed to get a band-aid and put it on my cheek because I wanted to; I looked as bad as I felt, my tie left untied again and collar popped open.

I ran into Kiba outside almost immediately, though nowhere near his building, as I speedwalked to school. I didn't even know what time it was nor did I hear anything that Kiba had to say. Well, most of it.

"Let's cheer you up a bit, Faint-chan," Kiba was insisting, and this I heard, even though I didn't want to hear it. He took my hand, (I was completely caught offguard by that), and rushed me to the school gates, to an old Sakura tree. At the sight of the tree, I thought of the park yesterday, and what Mad Hatter had said in the midst of his threat; "Evil comes tomorrow."

"Clumb up," Kiba instructed, and I would have done it…if a sudden realization hadn't hit me sooner.

I bonked Kiba on the head. "Skirt, genius," I muttered.

"Didn't need to hit me that hard," Kiba mumbled, rubbing his booboo away. "Fine, I'll head up on first, but I don't want to see you run away after I'm up there." And he climbed, maybe a bit too quickly, up the Sakura tree.

I climbed after him, a little slower of course, and managed to get to where he was sitting, binoculars in hand. "Hey, quick, take this," he said, handing me one. As I took it, he instructed me to keep looking at one side of the street. "Something good's going to happen." And I put the binoculars on.

"Have you ever wondered how the Ice King gets to school?" Kiba asked, and I caught a glimpse of Sasuke in a corner, looking both ways suspiciously. After making sure the perimeter was clear, Sasuke strolled out with his bookbag in hand, but then immediately did a double take. All of a sudden, he was in a full sprint towards the school gates. At first, I was a bit confused…until I saw a whole mob of girls come out of the same corner, rushing after him!

Kiba was in hysterics almost immediately, and I watched with interest as Sasuke ran faster than all the fangirls put together, even the ones who teamed up and threw one of their own at him. He dodged his way into the gates, and immediately all the girls retreated sadly; they probably weren't students of Leaf High.

"Students, please come down that Sakura tree." I looked down at the female voice that had called us, to see an overly-breasted woman down below. From up ahead, you could see everything; I smacked Kiba in the head before I climbed down the tree.

"Excuse me, who are you?" I asked; in the days I've been here, I thought I saw most everyone, at least all the teachers.

"The new principal."

* * *


	6. Chapter 5: School Traditions&Catching Up

* * *

_Chapter 5_:

**S**ch**_oo_l Tra**_di_**t_io_ns **and_Catch_**ing _U_**p

_Part 1_

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The new principal rushed us into the school and into our classrooms, until the whole school was in their appropriate classrooms. The loudspeaker was tested, though I myself hadn't heard it in the time I was in the school, and then her voice echoed throughout the whole school.

"Everyone, good morning! I have finally arrived, the new school principal of Leaf High, Tsunade-_sama_. Call me anything else and I'll get you." There was a pause after that; I assume Tsunade-_sama_ wanted us to laugh or something. "In addition to myself, two other teachers have transferred with me; please make sure to welcome Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei.

"And now we get to business." I was surprised that—I thought the whole announcement thing was over; what else could she need to say? Maybe Tsunade-_sama_ liked the sound of her voice or something. Already, I didn't like the poor girl, and I was a bit guilt-tripped by that because I knew, deep down, I only disliked her because I wasn't in a good mood. I hoped, deep down, this disappointment would go away and I could just keep going with my life…but it felt like I did so badly, that I should just wallow in my sorrows and stay there.

"I'm _com_pletely aware of all your school traditions, back and front," Tsunade-_sama_ continued, her voice possibly a bit harsher and stricter than it was a few minutes ago.

This...caught my attention more than anything that our new principal had said. Quickly, I nudge Hinata, who so conveniently sits next to me. "Hey, Hinata," I whisper loudly on purpose; no one else is paying attention to the announcements given. "What tradition does the principal have? I mean, is there a rite of acknowledgement or something?"

Hinata thought about it for a minute, and then answered. "There's a mutual agreement between the student body and the principal the minute he or she is appointed principal of Leaf High," Hinata recounted. "They make one wish, and once we, the student body, grant it…the principal leaves the school. Forever."

"Oh man!" I groaned, and as some sort of reflex, I dropped my head and accidentally crashed it on the desk. There was a quick retaliation, and I raised my head up, rubbing my bruise. "You can't be serious!" I continued complaining. "I go into this school, and get pelted by tomatoes. Blondie strolls in with two teachers, and they get gifts! How unfair is that?!"

"They're higher ups, Sakura-chan," Hinata explained in her soft voice. "They're adults, and such. It's only natural to respect them." Of course, it didn't stop my grumbling.

"My wish is to see a beautiful ball with everyone in the student body present, presentable, and beautiful. _Dancing._"

I heard every single chair in the room move, every single head immediately turn to the sound of Tsunade-_sama_'s voice. _What?! _Every single face held a different emotion, but more notable was each male expression, their faces twisted in agony and terror at the memory of tuxedos. I, personally, didn't find anything wrong with tuxedos.

"You heard me, kiddies. The tradition is, I make a wish, you guys grant it, and I have to be on my way, isn't it?" It was like she had been listening to my conversation with Hinata. My hand immediately hit my head as I tried to hide. "Well, that's what I ask. Pretty simple, isn't it? From now on, we'll have a ball every two weeks on Sunday nights, and if on one of the Sundays you meet my requirements…I will gladly be on my way. Until then, Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and I will be around. And those..._wonderful_ balls we'll be having!" After a few more moments of more babbling that no one paid attention to anymore, Tsunade-_sama_ was one with the loadspeaker, and there was a bit of quiet in the whole classroom as her words seeped into their heads. And stuck.

Simultaneously, there was a great cheer from girls who seemed to love dressing up and whatnot, while the more rowdy boys groaned in agony. Everyone who seemed in the middle weren't sure how to act, and instead wandered the classroom and chatted with friends in order to get a better opinion of the subject. There were light conversations of _love opportunities_ coming from every side of the room, boy and girl alike.

"What do you think about the balls we're going to have, Sakura-chan?" Hinata spoke up, her voice still barely higher than a whisper. She had taken the initiative, while I had just…stared off for a few minutes, thoughts somewhere else. Was this the evil I was warned about? And I stifled a laugh.

"Oh, Hinata-chan, you were talking to me?" I asked, my eyes locked on the poor girl in front of me who thought I was going a little…insane. I guessed the conversation easily. "I'm not much of a dress person myself, but I'll be sure to discuss this with my mom—" It hit me then, that they were serious. That everyone would actually listen. "Hey, wait a minute, you guys are actually going to go through this whole ordeal?"

"Of course," Hinata murmured. "It's the principal's wish."

"My, my…what a lucky transfer," I murmured sarcastically.

"Oh, but there _is_ one tradition I forgot to mention," Hinata said suddenly. "There actually _is_ something we're supposed to do to the principal." I turned my complete attention to her as she smiled dazzlingly. Obviously, her information was going to make my day. "One student will be in charge of placing a skunk inside the principal's office. As tradition, they will neither hint nor give away the location. As a welcome ceremony, the principal must be doused with skunk stink. If the student chosen for the deed fails to plant the skunk and the principal gets away with not being doused, then the student will be expelled and transferred immediately. Or _shunned_."

"I wonder what student it fell to…" I murmured dully. My thoughts were more with the plan than the actual person involved, extremely ecstatic at not being the only one with a horrible transfer welcome. Served her right.

"Me."

I turned around, surprised at the voice. It was Kiba, poised behind me with a skunk in a container underneath his foot. He looked like some kind of proud explorer... with a stupid-looking face and a silly smile. Ugh, must be my anger again…

"Are you insane?" I asked him; it was my all-natural reaction nowadays. "Of all the lousy luck…getting _chosen_…"

"Oh, no, I didn't get chosen," Kiba clarified. "I _chose_ this."

"In other words, he volunteered, Sakura-chan," Hinata repeated in my ear, even though I already understood…by now.

"You could get _expelled_." I said through muffled teeth. My head was in my heads already; a full facepalm. This had to be the stupidest ideas Kiba has ever had.

"No pressure, I'll be able to do it quickly," Kiba shook it off as if it were nothing. As if he were just placing an _apple_ on a teacher's desk anonymously. "There's no chance I'll get caught….if you help me, that is. _Faint._"

"Oh no." I saw where this was going.

"Alright, Faint. Just stand there and look pretty."

I might've twitched a little at the words I heard in my ear, but I didn't make a movement. I just stood there, with my face still annoyed, looking ahead. "_Excuse_ me, Kiba?" I muttered between clenched teeth.

"You know what I mean, Sakura," his voice rang out in my ears. "Keep a good lookout."

I looked from left to right, throughout the whole perimeter; there was nobody around. I was standing alone in the three-way hallway, just a few steps away from the principals office, looking out. "Yeah, yeah, I'm looking," I murmured, still pretty annoyed. "By the way, _Kiba_, where'd you get these spy gadgets, anyway? Small microphones, walkie-talkies—"

"Steal suit," Kiba interrupted.

"Yeah, I'm not wearing that," I answered quickly.

"Well, it's actually pretty great," Kiba's voice continued. "I just went outside, thinking I needed this stuff, and then out comes a convenient salesmen and sells me this. What great luck I have!" And then this very oh-I'm-so-lucky Kiba-laugh rang in my ears. _Suspicious_.

"Anyway, just keep a lookout 'til I say so, missie."

"You're not the boss of me, Kiba," I muttered. "If anything, you should be _thanking _me for risking my hide to help you out."

"Whatever keeps you on my side, Faint," Kiba joked. I sighed loudly before I got to watching for Tsunade-_sama_.

It really wasn't that bad of a job; all I had to do was stand in the hallway and idly watch to see if anyone was going Kiba's way. Hinata was out in the front of the building, looking out, and Kiba was in the classroom, placing the skunk. But it was taking him so long to plant the darn thing, it felt like I was watching for hours more than minutes. This, in a way, was good, because I was slowly letting out my anger, and thinking with a much more rational mind about what the Mad Hatter had said. He hadn't come across as a bad guy, so maybe he was there to help. Evil coming today, though, seemed vaguely ironic.

"Done yet, boss?" I asked, mocking him. Kiba, however, took it very smoothly.

"Almost done, just keep an eye out for the old hag." At his exact words, the sound of muffled static rang out—I thought of Hinata almost instantly, and wondered about her situation. And then I caught the eye of the school principal making her way towards her office.

"Mayday, mayday," I said rapidly. "She walks, she's coming. Fasten things as much as you can, I'll go to see if I can distract the woman." And, even though I said such things, I really didn't know what I should do to distract her. So, instead, I walked up to her, nervously, and said the first things that came to my head.

"Tsunade-sama," I murmured, clutching the hem of skirt a bit. I was so openly nervous, I felt that the school principal would see right through me!

Addressing the woman as Tsunade-_sama_ really got her attention, and she looked at me with bright eyes and high expectations. This made me squirm a little more, but eventually, I gulped loudly. "How's your first day of school, Tsunade-_sama_?"

"Oh, _that_," she said, and it was like her high hopes had just dropped to the lowest of the low. In an effort to pick it all up and act like nothing happened, she placed a smile and said, "It went very great, child, like it should be." Even I could hear the fake-ness in her voice. She wasn't putting much of an act for me.

"Ah, well," I struggled with my words. "There has to be _something_ you enjoyed out of this school, Tsunade-_sama_…"

And then she placed this really wicked smile on her face, like a demon woman's before she kills her prey. "I really enjoy that tradition of yours, and _am_ looking forward to it." She mused the subject lightly as her grin grew. And then she looked at me. "I hope it doesn't create some…_inconveniences _to you, my dear…"

"Out." Kiba's voice practically startled me out of my thoughts, my vacant stare at our new school principal. Something was off about that woman, or maybe she was acting like that on purpose?

"May I reach my office now?" Tsunade-_sama_ was getting very annoyed now, not even bothering to hide it anymore. I looked at her glumly, and then stepped out of the way, watching her walk her walk to her office. I don't exactly know how Kiba got out of that situation, but I walked out of that hallway, and back to my life.

It really should have been obvious from the start; sure, Mad Hatter had taken away all my points, but if I start from today, I'd be able to gain them back in no time. The minute school was over, I excused myself, ran behind a tree and transformed into the one, the only, **Cherry Supreme**. By now, I felt at least a _little_ bit better, though Tsubasa was still…taking it hard; He refused to talk.

The jobs placed on me were fairly simple, four 3-pointer jobs. I finished them with quick ease, but I had this vague little feeling that something was wrong. Regardless, Tsubasa didn't say anything, and I figured it just in my imagination. I couldn't shake the feeling of _last time_, but I figured it must'ave been fear that was keeping me back.

Tsubasa didn't talk the next day, either, or the day after that. Strangely enough, the feeling followed me those two days, and I became even more suspicious of it. I nudged Tsubasa about it, but he refused to talk. It got to the point where I believed, truly and sincerely, that Tsubasa had become mute again. I learned to be a better Cherry Supreme in those times; I paid more attention, fought more efficiently but I lost more and more meaning to it. Eventually, I forgot to state my name a few times, and just proceeded to the butt-whooping, then looking blandly at Tsubasa to look at the point score. Then I'd phase back, and rollerblade it home.

This went on for a couple of days, and as the number on Tsubasa's screen rose, my social status lowered. I didn't eat lunch with Hinata-chan anymore; instead, I took that time to be Cherry Supreme and beat a few bad guys during the time limit. More often than never, I was late to the next class. And then I'd crash, hardly able to keep my eyelids open, and Hinata-chan would let me copy notes afterschool. She didn't question it, or voice any concerns, and I was really _really_ happy about it. I'm not sure what Kiba did or said; I actually don't remember much of what happened. Everyone else went on with their lives, trying to please the principal by attempting to prepare her ball.

And then the day came, in the _night_, where I was walking along the midnight streets, and a voice called out in the darkness.

"Well, well, Sakura-_chan_, I didn't think I'd see _you_ again for a good few weeks."

It was the notoriously familiar voice of Mad Hatter. And he was right behind me, teapot in hand, teacup to his lips, and evil smile on his face.


	7. Chapter 6: School Traditions&CatchingUp2

**S**ch**_oo_l Tra**_di_**t_io_ns **and_ Catch_**ing _U_**p  
_Part 2_

* * *

Staring at the Mad Hatter was like staring at a deep, open wound; you want the pain to be over with, at least with a band-aid or something. I thought about ignoring the Mad Hatter and just walking away, but since he was in such close proximity of me, I couldn't bring myself to do that. I wanted to turn around quickly and punch him, just a real good punch in the face so he'd give me all my points back, but I couldn't bring myself to do that, either.

Oh wait, I think I _could_! With a wicked smile on my face I found myself spinning back, hand ready, only to find the Mad Hatter not there. I looked around, confused, then looked up at the nearest tree; he stood on top of a tree branch, sipping his tea. _Always with the tea!_Did it never run out?

"You haven't changed; always running headfirst into trouble," he said leisurely, his eyes scanning the area above me. But I didn't care; I was as angry as I was a week ago when I last saw him.

"I want my points back, Hatter!" I yelled up at him, taking a few steps forward as I raised Tsubasa.

"What has been taken _can _be returned, but only _after _it's earned," Mad Hatter riddled, though it sounded like stupid gibberish to me. Like the fancy words lawyers tell you when they actually mean to say, _No, we can't help you but we'll take your money, anyway_.

I raised Tsubasa up, showing the screen; it was past 50 already. "I have the same number you stole from me," I yelled back. "I earned them again!"

"That's not how you earn your points back," Mad Hatter said, and he disappeared from the tree into the darkness. I turned around and he was across the street from me. "You earn the points by not losing again."

My eyes widened. "You mean-?" The Mad Hatter nodded and looked down the street. I followed his gaze as I saw the dark creature on top of a car that Mad Hatter was talking about; the ghoul.

I clutched Tsubasa tightly. "I won't lose twice," I replied cooly. Mad Hatter was unfazed, his eyes still watching the dark creature.

I took a deep breath, remembering the blows the last ghoul gave me. It's okay, I can _do _this. I walked to the ghoul, raising my staff as I prepared to fight. "I am Cherry Supreme, the protector of peace and love in Konoha. I'm here to eradicate you, for everyone's sake."I didn't stutter, and my voice didn't crack from the fear. My thoughts were all the same: All I had to do was...destroy it, right?

The ghoul jumped suddenly and I raised Tsubasa up just as his arm clashes with Tsubasa's rod, the metal clash sounding in the air. I pushed Tsubasa forward and swung, but the ghoul thrashed forward too fast and smashed its body right into me. I flew into the air, but I landed on my feet and jumped back in case the ghoul struck again. My enemy, however, was exactly where I had been, still thrashing in the air as it fought an invisible adversary. This ghoul was a monster indeed, a monster who clearly lived to fight regardless of who or what it was, just as long as it could punch and kick something. All of a sudden, I didn't want to fight anymore, and I found myself stepping back until I felt something behind me; I looked back to see it was the car the ghoul had been on.

"Already giving up, I see," Mad Hatter commented, and I looked around until I found him standing next to a tree over on my right. His little teacup wasn't in sight. "Not to say I'm not surprised. Well, you know the magic words."

"This is hopeless," I whined, and then something unexpected happened. The car window behind me rolled down and I, surprised, jumped away to look at it, keeping a close eye on the thrashing ghoul using my peripheral vision. Blonde hair popped out from the window and I saw it belonged to a boy, a blue-eyed spiky-haired excited blond boy who was gaping up at me.

"YOU'RE CHERRY SUPREME!" he shouted suddenly as he pointed up to me in glee. I was a little taken aback by his enthusiasm, but I couldn't help smiling a little bit. "OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S REALLY YOU! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, I ACTUALLY MET THE REAL YOU!" He proceeded to then try to pull himself out of the vehicle through the window but, because he was too giddy, he couldn't really pull himself out of there.

I was flattered, I really was, when something told me to look back and I saw the ghoul rushing towards me. With no time to think, I swung Tsubasa like a bat and, by a stroke of luck, I caught the ghoul off guard and swung him off to the far left. I turned back to the boy, who was watching the whole ordeal like it was a television show.

"You've got to get out of here right now," I urged him. "It's dangerous here."

The boy smirked. "There's no danger with you here, Cherry Supreme," he said, and for a second he looked really cool...if you ignored half of his torso was still in the car. I sighed in disbelief, realizing there was no way to get him out of here.

The ghoul struck again while I wasn't looking, smacking me with it into a tree and then back down on the floor. It fell on me and started clawing at me, but I kicked it off of me and jumped back on my feet. It hurt to be knocked onto a tree, though, so I thought I'd try to rub it better but, before I knew it, the ghoul was coming at me again.

"How long are you going to play the silent game, idiot genie?" Mad Hatter's voice rang out. "Are you willing to lose another partner?"

Mad Hatter's interference distracted me, and again I was hit by a direct attack from the ghoul and knocked down. I fell back on grass and the ghoul went rushing past me, in some idiotic frenzy, but I found myself instead staring at my staff. "Tsubasa!" I shouted. "Tsubasa, you're really there?"

"Watch out!" Tsubasa's voice rang out and I rolled to the side just as the ghoul went rushing by, barely avoiding his body slam that suddenly was combo'd with a roll over.

I smiled as I looked at my staff. "Nice to have you back, buddy," I murmured to it. "It's okay, Tsubasa; I won't lose this time!"

"You will," Tsubasa urged suddenly, and I frowned at his lack of faith in me. "He's too strong for you, but I've got an idea. You've just got to trust me."

"GO, CHERRY SUPREME!" The voice of the blond boy could be heard all the way from where I was lying on the floor. "YOU CAN DO IT, YOU ALWAYS WIN!" I felt a little power boost from those words, despite being horribly embarrassed.

"Alright," I said, determined, and I stood back up, firm as ever. "What should I do?"

"Throw me."

With the ghoul rushing towards me again, now was the best time, if any, to employ Tsubasa's plan. I twirled him around a bit first as I tried to calm down, and just as the ghoul came forward, I batted him away. He flew a few feet, far less than that ghoul made _me_ fly, but I took that opportunity to throw Tsubasa, just as he asked, right at the ghoul. The minute the two collided, my twirling staff with a black ghoulish creature, a big, bright bang sounded out and a giant flash of light blinded me. After it finally faded away, the ghoul was gone.

"I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" The blond boy shouted as he ran out of the car and came to give me a big hug. "NOBODY CAN BEAT CHERRY SUPREME! Man, I'm going to be just like you one day!"

I was surprised to find myself shorter in his grasp, but eventually snapped out of it. "Thank you citizen," I said as I pushed myself out of his arms. "Now that Konoha is safe once more, I bid you adieu." I nodded my head as a goodbye, and then ran towards the area where I had thrown Tsubasa. A little ways away, I found him amidst a shrub. I knelt down to pick him up gently, the marks of abuse very obvious on the rod.

"I see he's not as selfish as he was back then," Mad Hatter's voice commented, and I found him right behind me. It had come as such a surprise, though, that I accidentally fell forwards on my knees and had to lean my head back to check if he was still there. But he had already started walking down the road, probably all the way home. "Don't worry too much about that brat; he'll heal himself rather quickly."

"Tsubasa, you okay?" I asked the wand anyway, afraid I'd broken him. I heard a groan and a mutter in response. "It's okay, buddy; we can relax from now on and I won't throw you anymore, okay? Thanks for the save, though. Really; you were great out there." As I said my last words, I transformed out of Cherry Supreme to old Sakura again, and then quickly headed home.

The next day, I found Kiba waiting for me outside my house, Akamaru trailing behind him. A little confused and suddenly self-conscious about my uniform, I walked out of the front door and slowly asked, "Did I miss something?"

"Yep," he said plainly as he led the way to school. "You missed the stupid ball the principal threw." Whoops, completely slipped my mind with all the superhero saving and all! "But don't feel too bad; someone else was missing, too. That stupid Ice King. And you know, without all of us there, we really can't get rid of the Evil Witch."

"Evil Witch?" I asked. "Wow, I totally missed out on the name-calling contest for the principal, didn't I?"

"You've missed out on a _lot_ of things while you were in Fantasyland," Kiba said matter-of-factly, and I was taken aback. He grinned. "You can't fool me, Faint. I know when you're paying attention and when you're not, cos I _never_ pay attention. I know the signs."

"I guess even you have something to brag about," I murmured with a smile.

"Laugh all you want," Kiba retorted. "But hey, I've got some juicy info for ya. There's a new transfer student coming in today."

My ears perked for this slight piece of information. "Oh really? What's he like?"

"Oh, just some dumb blond boy with spiky hair. Look, there he is over there!"


End file.
